Easter 2013 - Turn to Him

The great preacher Charles Spurgeon once said that his theology could be summed up in 4 words - Jesus died for me. I'm sure he too would have been happy to add to those words the reality we proclaim today, Christ is Risen !

One Easter Sunday a preacher got up to speak and said, 'in my hand I have 3 sermons - a £50 one which lasts 5 minutes, a £20 one which lasts 15 minutes and a £10 one which lasts a full half hour - now, we'll take the collection and see which one I'll preach.'

God's love for us is a subject which can be discussed for hours - his unchangeable, limitless love, but actually there is a very simple message of Easter - God loves us and showed that love by sending his son to die for us and to rise again, offering to us new life for all eternity...

This morning I want to think about the meaning of some very simple words - Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples 'I have seen the Lord' - those words  quoted in John's gospel must be some of the most simple yet profound ever spoken.

Jesus was dead - of that there was no doubt - the Romans were good at executions, there was no mistake.

Jesus had come to live amongst us - he had taught people, inspired people - he had encouraged people and loved people - and he had made the ultimate sacrifice for all the sins that had ever been committed, or would ever be - Jesus, in short had been punished for things we do wrong.

He had gone to the cross in excruciating pain, humiliated by the treatment he had received, and yet he had gone to that cross willingly.

And on the cross he had shown his power, his courage, his love - he asked forgiveness for those who had put him on the cross - incredible considering their treatment of him; and of course when one of the robbers crucified with him said to Jesus, 'remember me when you come into your kingdom', Jesus replied that the robber will be with him in paradise.

And in those two things Jesus brings in to words what he came to earth for.

He came to offer a way of forgiveness - the bible tells us that every one of us has fallen short of the glory of God - every one of us is a sinner, and some people really dwell on that.

Some people will go on and on about the things we have done wrong, dwelling on the past when Jesus urges us to look to the future. In dying on the cross he took the punishment for every sin - and when the punishment is taken the wrong should be forgotten. And with God that is what happens, and we haven't even take the punishment ourselves !

And so when Jesus talked of forgiving those who had put him on the cross, he talked of offering forgiveness to anyone...

And in offering forgiveness he was offering a new life, eternal life... When he promised the robber that he would be with him in Paradise, he was extending that promise to all who turn to him.

We are called to turn to him, to ask for and accept the forgiveness he offers and to celebrate that we are accepted into his kingdom for evermore.

That is the message of Easter - a day that history changed, a day that the world was transformed for every single person - whether they know it or not, whether they choose to accept it or not...

Easter is God's incredible gift to each one of us.

Recently I watched a film called 'The Way'. It is the story of a man walking the pilgrimage route to Santiago de compostela - the place where it is believed St James is buried. It's an incredible story which focuses on one man particularly but on the journey of a few others as well.

It is a religious pilgrimage but few of the pilgrims in the film are really religious - but when they arrive at the cathedral they are urged to do what pilgrims have done before them, and go down on their knees as they approach the statue of St James - and there's something that makes them do it...

They even surprised themselves by doing it - having walked all those miles I'd have thought the last thing you'd want to do is to get down on your knees, and move forward on those knees which must already be aching from the ridiculously long walk, but that's what they do....

And in coming to Christ that is the emotion that many have felt... Not expecting to be changed, transformed; not expecting that the presence of Christ will do anything, not expecting to even find him in some cases...

But they come.... They come with doubts and fears, they come with needs, they come with hope - hope that life can somehow be different.

And Easter means it will be...

Some people like looking around at gravestones and there are some really funny ones - there's the one which says, 'here lies an atheist - all dressed up with nowhere to go', or the classic, 'I told you I was sick', or the gravestone of the lady who'd died at 60 - her stone read, 'this wasn't supposed to happen - I was supposed to die at 102, shot by a jealous wife.' But what about the tombstone of Jesus - 'He is not here, he is risen'.

That is the incredible truth of Easter - If Jesus did not rise from the dead, the Christian faith is a foolish fantasy but Christ is alive, and the evidence is overwhelming. It's what Jesus predicted would happen, (Matt 16:21; Mark 9:9-10; John 2:18-22), and its what the Old Testament prophesied (Psalm 16:10; compare Acts 2:25-31; 13:33-37).

Even more convincingly the tomb was empty and the grave clothes vacant. if those who opposed Christ wished to silence His disciples, all they had to do was produce a body, but they could not (John 20:3-9).

 Add to that that Many people saw the resurrected Christ. They looked at His face, touched Him, heard His voice, and saw Him eat (Matt. 28:16-20; Luke 24:13-39; John 20:11-29; John 21:1-9; Acts 1:6-11; 1 Cor. 15:3-8).

And perhaps most convincingly the lives of the disciples were revolutionised. Though they fled and even denied Christ at the time of His arrest, they later feared no one in their proclamation of the risen Christ (Matt 26:56, 69-75). The resurrection was the central message of the early church. The church grew with an unwavering conviction that Christ had risen (Acts 4:33; 5:30-32; Rom. 5:24).

And today men and women and children testify that the power of the risen Christ has transformed their lives. We know that Jesus is alive not only because of the historical and biblical evidence but also because He has miraculously touched our lives.

And that is the main message, the simple message - the message Mary Magdalene offered, 'I have seen The Lord' is a message we can all share.

Easter is not an academic subject - it is about a relationship and a reality that can transform us day by day.

The risen Lord asks us to follow him, to look at him, to know that he is there with us and for us every step we take...

And so we are asked to turn to him, to turn to him with doubts and fears, and with all our needs, but to turn to him with a hope that will not be disappointed...

The new Pope Francis in his Easter message said, '"Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with trust: he is life! If up till now you have kept him at a distance, step forward, He will receive you with open arms."

It is an incredible invitation… As the stone of Jesus' tomb was rolled away, so was yet another barrier that humanity had put between ourselves and God - and God will keep rolling away those barriers as he calls us ever closer to him.

Jesus has claimed the victory for us all through his resurrection, a victory which has promised forgiveness of sins, and a new and eternal life - may we allow our lives to be transformed as we celebrate that victory of resurrection each day….

Christ is risen - and life has changed... For evermore. Amen